1 CAD Interview

When the RCAF is tasked with a mission at home or abroad—and things can get hectic in a hurry, witness last winter’s multi-aircraft deployment to Operation Renaissance in the Philippines, or this spring’s deployment of fighters to Europe as tensions mounted in Russian-annexed Crimea— it’s the organizational expertise at 1 Canadian Air Division (1 CAD) in Winnipeg that makes it happen. 

Located at 17 Wing, 1 CAD’s 600-plus personnel have been under the command of MGen Pierre St-Amand, a career fighter pilot, since September 2012. 

His command responsibilities mean, of course, that despite more than 2,600 hours with 433 Tactical Fighter Squadron in Bagotville, Que., 410 Tactical Fighter Operational Training Squadron and 441 Tactical Fighter Squadron in Cold Lake, Alta., St-Amand can no longer pursue a pilot’s first love. His flying days effectively began winding down in 2009, when he was appointed as senior advisor to the chief of the defence staff, followed by his appointment as director strategic plans at North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters in Belgium. He became 1 CAD Deputy Commander in July 2011 and assumed command in 2012. 

Between times, the Royal Military College electrical engineering graduate added a Master’s degree in strategic studies and certification as a practitioner of joint warfare from the U.S. Air Force University in Alabama. 

“I’m a Cold War warrior, in a sense,” St-Amand acknowledged in an interview with RCAF Today. “I don’t have direct combat experience at the tactical level, which is probably something I regret, but otherwise I’ve been extremely lucky to have been exposed to operations at the operational and strategic levels. That needs to happen, I guess. . . . I have been involved as a strategic planner in practically all the NATO missions that Canada has been involved with. That includes ISAF (the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan) as well as counter-piracy and counter-terrorism missions, but especially Operation Unified Protector, where I was privileged to direct strategic planning on behalf of SACEUR. This is my operational experience—more at the strategic and operational levels—the translation of political aims, if you will, into military aims and operations.”

That essentially has been the game plan since the early 1950s, when RCAF Headquarters No. 1 Air Division was set up in France to fulfil Canada’s NATO air defence commitments in Europe. It comprised no fewer than 12 fighter squadrons at four RCAF stations: two in France (Marville and Grostenquin) and two in West Germany (Zweibrücken and Baden-Soellingen). Together with American and French installations, they came under the jurisdiction of NATO’s 4th Allied Tactical Air Force which, in turn, was part of Allied Air Forces Central Europe.

The RCAF initially flew Canadair F-86 Sabre day fighters, with one squadron in each wing transitioning in 1956 to the all-weather Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck, the only mass-produced domestic design. The Canadair CF-104 Starfighter made its debut in 1962. Eventually, due to budget cuts, Canada’s presence in Europe was consolidated at Baden-Soellingen as 1 Canadian Air Group (CAG).

In 1988, 1 CAD was stood up again as Canada increased its commitment to NATO, only to see a withdrawal from Europe within a few years as the Cold War thawed. In 1997, after further widespread restructuring, 1 CAD was stood up yet again, but this time on home turf.

Like those who came before him, it falls to St-Amand to ensure, when the government does come calling, that there are enough personnel trained and equipped to go wherever the mission takes them. Within the typically acronym-rich environment of the military, he is responsible for an array of command, control, communications and intelligence functions while heading up the Canadian Region of the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD), and is the Joint Force Air Component Commander (JFACC) on behalf of the Canadian Joint Operations Command (CJOC). He also is commander of the Trenton search and rescue region, which covers everything between Quebec and British Columbia and up to the High Arctic. 

Asked which of his command hats he might wear more than others, he chuckled. “At eight o’clock in the morning, I could be executing a NORAD mission, and at 8:05 I’m doing a mission for CJOC in Africa somewhere, and five minutes later there could be a SAR (search and rescue) mission in the North. I’m just the tip of the iceberg. . . . In this headquarters, we have the only combined air operations centre for the RCAF, so all this execution of missions is done through the Combined Air Operations Centre. I have a director there, Col Brad Baker, who takes care of business on a day-to-day basis, reporting to me, through my deputy commander for operations, a USAF Brigadier-General.” And, like other commanders, he has a senior enlisted person, CWO Mike Scarcella, as his right-hand man. 

Given his multiple responsibilities and despite the fact that he can delegate a lot of work, St-Amand finds it a challenge to get out to his Wings, bases and squadrons on a regular basis. “(I go) as often as I can,” he replied, “but you’ll understand that this country is so large, and there is a time and space problem I have to deal with.” 

That being said, he has a dozen Wing commanders and their subordinate units who report regularly. “It’s a struggle to visit all of them at least once a year, but I try. I do meet with them two or three times a year here in Winnipeg, as the 1 Canadian Air Division Council, where we discuss business and plan for the future at the operational and tactical level. Otherwise, I make sure I talk with each and every one of  them once a month, so that communication, apart from routine emails, is well maintained. It’s important to reassure personnel that 1 CAD maintains a high level of interest and awareness.” 

Those same people, regardless of where they’re based, respond in kind. “The strength of the RCAF is reflected in how we respond to the challenges we face every day,” explained St-Amand. “We have excellent people. They’re agile; they’re not stove-piped into one way of thinking. So any time we have an issue to face, which may even be outside our comfort zone, our folks are able to respond in the best Air Force tradition.” 

He said that’s equally true at the Wing and squadron levels. “Our people are our most important source of strength, and that includes their families. It might seem corny to talk this way, but it takes a human to make things happen regardless of the resources you have—or don’t have. We’re a small Air Force, but we punch above our weight most of the time, and the difference is efficiencies we create with our people.” 

St-Amand said that this flexibility and readiness is not unique to the military; that it is often seen in the corporate world, too. “It’s just that we’re really good at it,” he reiterated. “There’s a saying to the effect that ‘the best plans don’t survive first contact with the enemy,’ so there’s a need to adapt and be agile, to rise to the occasion.” 

When RCAF strengths are discussed, a corollary question about deficiencies and/or operational shortcomings is inevitable, and St-Amand agreed that the RCAF might never be completely satisfied with the resources at its disposal, as it balances them against the expectations of individual missions. “Do we have deficiencies?” he countered. “There’s no hiding the fact that we’re small, but we take great pride in doing the most we can.” 

He cited the assignment to the Canadian NORAD Region headquarters of USAF BGen Charles Hyde as deputy commander. Coming from a military machine with enormous personnel and hardware resources despite budget sequestration, and even downsizing, Hyde, like others before him, has clearly been impressed by the RCAF’s efficiency and interpersonal familiarity. 

“So when something needs to happen, it’s just a matter of calling a buddy—somebody you’ve been to school with or trained with or have crossed paths with in the past—and, bang, things happen,” said St-Amand. “The NORAD mission is a great story which is not talked about very often in this country. This is one example of bilateral cooperation which is incredible. Unless you’re intimately involved on a daily basis, you maybe don’t see it.” 

He apologized for answering a question about perceived deficiencies by talking again about RCAF strengths, “but that’s my nature.” It could be said that all pilots are inherently optimists, even that they must be, but St-Amand insisted that the RCAF is “in exciting times” today, with programs such as the Lockheed Martin CC-130J Hercules transports, the Boeing CH-147F Chinook helicopters and the CC-177 Globemaster III strategic airlifters. 

However, what about the long-acknowledged need for new fighters and fixed-wing SAR (FWSAR) platforms, both of which have been fraught with controversy? “I’m aware of the activities in Ottawa with respect to the replacement of fighter aircraft and those need to happen in due course,” he replied. 

Asked whether he is frustrated by the delays in the FWSAR program in particular, he admitted that he is “more focused” on working with the RCAF’s current aircraft. “I am given the resources and I’m expected to deliver on the mission. We just play with the cards we are dealt. My role is to execute the missions and provide advice on operational requirements for the fleet replacement projects and so forth. . . . Whether it’s fixed-wing SAR or next-generation fighters, we monitor them, but we are more concerned with optimizing what we have now. 

St-Amand had a sanguine tone when he agreed that “some projects take more time than others.” That being said, “As long as I can effectively conduct the mission, I think I should be happy and grateful for that.” 

He laughed when asked what kind of aircraft he would like to have if the RCAF had unlimited funds. “That might be going a little into an area I’m not comfortable with, but I’ll tell you what I tell my force employers, whether it’s commander NORAD or commander CJOC or even back in Ottawa, or other organizations that task us. It’s not the type of aircraft that I’m worried about. It’s the effects that are created. Once we understand the effects, then we’ll take a look at what we have and provide the best answer. I’ll leave it at that.”